New World New Life
by hydefan
Summary: She is an outcast who communicates with the dead. He is a demon in the feudal era who refuses to save the lives of others. What happens when they meet? Second time uploading this story..ran out of time on prev. one .
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Falling

_Darkness. Cold. Where was she? Her body shivered against the icy temperature. Somehow, she knew she wasn't safe here. She tried to get away, but she couldn't. Her legs remained frozen to the ground. Suddenly she saw a figure coming towards her. He was tall, with long, flowing silver hair. He seemed to glow, penetrating the darkness. She squinted to see his face, but she couldn't make it out clearly. Slowly he approached her, and drew his sword from his sheath. She couldn't understand why, but for some reason, she didn't feel afraid. Finally able to move her legs, she closed the distance between them, all the while staring at his sword. It also glowed, but differently from the man. As she reached out to touch the cool metal, she felt herself fall backwards into the abyss. She tried to scream but no sound managed to escape from her lips._

Chikako awoke with a start. Slowly sitting up, she looked around. She was in her room, lying on her bed. She rubbed her forehead, thinking about her dream. She'd been having the same one for about a month now. Everytime, the man came, and when she managed to get close enough to study the sword, she woke up. Why the hell did her dream self want to see that damn sword so much anyway? Rolling her eyes, she threw back the covers, and got dressed into her school uniform. Running a brush through her long, ebony-coloured hair, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her almond-shaped eyes, were slightly puffy and had bags under them, from lack of sleep. Oh well, not like anyone would notice.

When she came downstairs, she could hear her mother snoring away another hangover on the couch. Ever since Chikako's father had left four years earlier, her mother had started to drink and have strange men come calling at all times of the night. She slept all day, leaving Chika in charge of taking care of the house, but soon there wouldn't be a house if her mother couldn't find a job to pay the bills. Chika had a part time job, but that only brought in enough for the few groceries in the fridge. The rest of her time was spent at school, trying her best to get the top grades.

Sighing, Chika walked into the living room, and picked up the empty bottles, and emptied the half full into the plant next to the window. When she was done, she recycled the bottles, and picked up her bag.

"Goodbye, Mom," she called, opening the door. The only response was her mother's snoring.

The school day passed uneventfully. She went to class, did her work, ate her lunch alone, and did more work. No one ever talked to her. She was an outcast, someone who shouldn't even breathe the same oxygen as them. The reason? Chikako could channel spirits. She'd been able to since hitting puberty. And though she hadn't even told her own family, people could sense something strange about her, and that was why her classmates ignored her. She sometimes wondered if it was also why her father had suddenly left his family, and started a new one.

When she was young, Chika had learned how to fight with sais, which were long, sharp daggers used in ancient martial arts. She was seventeen now, and very adaptly skilled at using them. She carried them with her everywhere, for protection. With the world full of creeps, most of whom came to her house to be with her mother, she wanted to make sure she could defend herself.

As she walked to her job after school had let out, Chika let her mind drift freely. Immediately it returned to the dream as it usually did. Who was the man? What did the dream mean? Shaking her head to rid herself of these thoughts before she started work, she reached the cafe where she worked, and entered through the back door. She quickly got changed into her work uniform. Coming out of the change room, she almost ran into some one.

"Gomen nasai," she exclaimed, glancing up. When she did, she saw a smiling face. It was her co-worker, Ken-san. He was the only person she knew that didn't ignore her existence. In fact, he tried to help her out whenever she was having problems with something. He was always offering to tutor her in subjects she was struggling in, or giving her some of his lunch.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled. She blushed slightly under his gaze.

"Hey you two!" yelled another waiter, as he rushed into the kitchen, "Get to work!"

"Yes sir!" Ken mock saluted the man, who just glared at him. Chika tried to suppress a giggle, but couldn't. He always made her laugh. She grabbed her apron and notebook, and went to take the order of some customers that had just walked in.

"Konnichiwa," she bowed, "What would you like?"

Chika walked home, exhausted. It had been unusually busy, and Ken had left early, saying he had some things to take care of. She'd been kind of disappointed. Ken always made work fun. Not to mention a spirit had tried to contact her while she was serving customers. She hated it when that happened. Her miko powers weren't very well developed, so her body would begin to shake uncontrollably and she would feel faint. Even if she had allowed the spirit to speak to her, it would have taken a lot of her energy. Fighting it took even more energy. Her employer, Asamoto-san had noticed, and sent her home early because he thought she was sick.

Trudging up the stairs to her house, she opened the door, to be assaulted with the sounds of people moaning and panting. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she quietly closed the door, and sat on the steps to wait until they were finished. Her mother disgusted her. Chika was surprised that she hadn't contracted a STI yet. After about five minutes, she heard the door open.

"Chikako-chan? What are you doing here?"

Chika felt her stomach wrench, as she turned around. Ken stood there, hair slightly tousled, looking confused. She tried to say something, but her throat was too dry.

"Chika, dear," her mother came to the door, "You're off early."

Chika looked back and forth between them, feeling more pain than when her father had left. Feeling tears well up in her eyes, she stood up suddenly, turned, and started to run blindly. She heard Ken call after her. She just ran faster. She could hear him chasing after her, yellling at her to stop. She looked behind her, noticing that she was beginning to lose him.

She looked forward to see that she had darted into the middle of the street, and a car was screaming toward her. The driver slammed on the brakes, but he was too close. She stood, frozen to the ground. Her body began to feel strange. It shook, and was racked with pain. The tires screached as they tried to slam to a stop. At the last minute, she braced herself for impact. But instead, she felt herself falling.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The meeting

Shessomaru floated above the tree tops on his cloud, surveying the Western Lands. He did this once and a while to make sure that his subjects were in line and that no demons were foolish enough to try to rise against him. He had inherited his wealth and respect from his late father, Lord Inutaisho, the Great Dog Demon. Shessomaru had revered his father until he had done the unthinkable, and mated with a human wench, and had a half-demon child, InuYasha, before dying in battle with a jealous human.

In Shessomaru's eyes, humans and half-demons were lower than dirt, and should be treated as such. The only exception was the small human girl named Rin, who usually accompanied him. He had brought her back to life after she had been killed by wolves, using the Tensaiga, the sword his father had left him. It could save a thousand lives in one sweep. He rarely used this pathetic sword, because it was of no use to him. He had no one he cared for enough to use it on. In fact, he only used it when Tensaiga pulsated, beckoning him to use it. Instead, he had another sword, the Tokijin, forged from the fang of a demon that had bit InuYasha's Tetsaiga, the sword that could kill a thousand demons in one sweep, also left by their father, in half.

Shessomaru's keen senses brought his attention to the sky in the distance. Dark, ominous clouds were gathering in one spot. Suddenly there was a bright flash of bright light that nearly blinded him. Narrowing his eyes, he went to investigate.

Chika felt herself hit the ground with a loud thud, knocking the wind out of her. Gasping to regain her breath, she slowly opened her eyes, and was startled to find herself, not in the middle of the street, but in a lush forest with tall pine trees. It was dark out, signaling that it was still night. Slowly, she sat up, clutching her head, which felt like it was being hit repeatedly with a sledge hammer, and looked wonderously around. Was she dreaming? Hallucinating? Looking down, she noticed that she was still wearing her school uniform that she had walked home in.

Suddenly the memory of her encounter with her mother and Ken came flooding back, and she began to tremble with anger. How could he? She'd thought he was better than that. All men were the same. Disgusting, filthy, perverted, corrupt, grotesque pigs who only thought with their penis.

Without warning, there was a tremendous crash in the bushes behind her. Turning around, she was horrified to see two large ogres eyeing her. They carried large clubs with spikes embedded in them. Horns grew out of their foreheads, and they had small, red, beady eyes. She quickly jumped to her feet.

"Look what we have here, brother," one said, "A tasty morsel of a human girl."

"Aye, brother," the second replied, "She looks quite appetizing, doesn't she? Very juicy indeed."

The first ogre reached out to grab her, but she pulled out a sai from where it was hidden, and sliced his hand with it. He jerked back, as blood oozed from the wound. She took a step backwards, and fled.

"Little bitch!" he roared, chasing after her. His brother quickly followed. Chika ran as fast as she could, but she was beginning to become exhausted after having already been chased by Ken. Luckily the ogres were big and awkward, and couldn't run very fast. Chika burst into a clearing, startling a small girl and an imp-like creature.

"Oh!" exclaimed the child, "You startled me. Didn't she scare you, Jaken-san?"

Chika could hear the ogres catching up. Even if she left now, there was no way they wouldn't find the young girl and her companion. The two small innocents didn't seem to have any weapons on them. The imp, whose name was apparently Jaken, only carried a wierd staff with two heads on it. He seemed to suddenly hear the ogres approaching.

"Say, what is all that racket?" he inquired in a high, raspy voice. Knowing she had no other choice than to fight, she pulled out both sais, and turned to face the direction of the ogres.

"Stay back," she ordered, getting into a fighting stance. The ogres came crashing into the clearing. The girl let out a frightened scream and hid behind the imp.

"Well, well," said the second ogre, "Looks like we'll have a feast tonight. She brought us to even more food."

"I want some fun with her before we eat her," growled the first, "As payback for my hand."

"Go right ahead," his brother said. Slowly the first approached her with a menacing look on his face. She failed to notice the second one circle around behind her to get at the others. He struck at them, and they barely managed to get out of the way. The girl cried out in terror.

"Shessomaru-sama!!" she called, as Jaken tried to fend off the ogre with fire from his staff.

Distracted, Chika looked back, and her enemy took his chance to strike. She barely managed to block in time. The weight of the club was tremendous, and felt her already weak legs begin to give way under the pressure. She quickly rolled to the side, striking out as she did. She was able to leave a gash in his side, but this didn't seem to hurt him, only piss him off more. He brought his club down on her, and she rolled again, but one of the spikes grazed her left arm, leaving a large laceration. Any thoughts she'd had about this being a dream ended as pain seared through her arm, causing her to cry out. Coming up panting, she saw that Jaken and the girl were in trouble. Their ogre was too much for Jaken to handle alone. She dodged another attack, and raced to stand beside the imp with the girl behind them.

She didn't know how they could defeat these ogres. They were much stronger than humans, whom she was used to fighting against. Now both of them stood infront of her, grinning at the prospect of their seemingly inevitable victory. Suddenly a burst of energy came from the trees, and the ogres fell to the ground with large, gaping wounds on their bodies, their eyes lifeless. Turning to the source of the attack, Chika could see a tall figure emerging from the trees. The wound on her arm was so painful now, that her vision was beginning to get blury. She began to feel cold from the blood loss. She felt, rather than saw, the little girl run over to the man.

"Shessomaru-sama!" the girl cried. Clutching her wounded arm, Chika felt her legs give way. She sank slowly to her knees. Slowly the man walked over to her, and kneeled beside her. She looked up to see a handsome face framed with long, silver hair staring coolly at her.

"You!" she gasped, recognizing him as the man from her dream. Her head reeled from the sudden motion, and she fell forward in a faint.

Shessomaru gracefully caught the human girl as she fell, and picked her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style, mindful of her injured arm which he suspected had been poisoned by the spikes on ogres' clubs. He was sure that she had been the cause of the strange spectacle in the sky earlier, seeing as she wore strange, foreign clothing, much like what his half-brother's mate wore. He had been surprised to find her defending Rin though.

"Rin. Jaken," he called over his shoulder, "Let's go." He turned to leave. Rin and Jaken hurried to catch up.

When Chika awoke, she had no clue where she was. She was laying on a futon, in a strange room. It was a decent size, and there was a window, but it was completely dark out, except for the moon that shone brightly. She noticed that some one had changed her into a simple white kimono. She tried to move, but screamed in pain, as a searing sensation shot up her arm. Half of her arm was covered in a neatly wrapped bandage.

"It will heal faster if you don't move it too much," came a deep, masculine voice from the far corner. Chika tried to squint in the darkness to make out who was in the room with her. He stepped forward into the moonlight. Her blue eyes widened as Shessomaru approached her. His sharp facial features were complemented by his piercing yellow eyes, and his long, silver hair flowed gracefully behind him as he walked. He wore an elegant men's kimono with decorative armor on his chest. He stood above her, staring down at her. Chika licked her dry lips and tried to speak.

"Wh-Where am I?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"My palace," he answered curtly. She shook her head.

"No, _where_ am I? This place isn't Osaka," she said, talking about her hometown, "How did I get here?"

"I plan to find out," he said, "Until then, you will remain in here." Chika frowned at this.

"Excuse me?" she exclaimed, causing him to stop on his way out the door, "But since when do you own me? You can't just give me orders and expect me to follow them."

He turned around, and gave her a look that told her he wasn't giving her the option of whether or not she would obey him. His eyes flashed dangerously, but like her dream, she wasn't afraid of him. She strained to sit up, ignoring the pain that seared through her arm, glaring back at him. He walked back over to her and kneeled before her, grabbing her chin with his hand. She wacked his hand away with her uninjured one. More displeasure showed in his eyes.

"Don't challenge me," he warned, "I'm a high-ranking demon. You are a mere human. You _will_ learn your place." He said this last sentence forcefully. She glared at him in defiance. No one told her what to do. She'd been taking care of herself for years, so what gave him any authority over what she was or wasn't going to do? She reached for her sai, but she'd forgotten she was wearing a kimono. A slight smile surfaced on Shessomaru's lips.

"Do you really think that I would let you keep those on your person?" he asked, and got up, the battle won. She heard him lock the door behind him.

"You can't keep me here!" she yelled after him, "I'll find a way out by myself if I have to!"

Cursing in pain, she struggled to stand up. She moved to the window, and looked out. There were two demon guards stationed nearby. Next, she tried the other door on the other side of the room, but it only lead to a toilet. Sighing, she let her shoulders slump. Then she started to scream angrily and throw whatever she could find around, taking out her frustrations with the world out on the people nearby, who hurried to alert Shessomaru-sama that she was causing quite a scene.

Shessomaru took his time walking down the hall to the room where he had put the human girl. He could hear her screaming from afar. He was quickly growing annoyed with her attitude, and was going to put a stop to this nonsense. Suddenly the screaming stopped. Perhaps she had lost her voice. '_That wouldn't be a bad thing,' _he thought to himself.

By the time Shessomaru calmly slid open the door, Chika was sitting in the middle of the room, furniture and other various objects scattered haphazardly around her. She gazed sleepily out the window. He casually strode over to where she was sitting. He frowned. She seemed to be in a trance. All the light had receded from her eyes, and she showed no signs of acknowledging his presence. He reached out to touch her, but stopped when she let out a huge breath, and blinked a couple times. The light returned to her eyes, and she finally noticed him standing there.

"What were you just doing?" he demanded. She only stared up at him and said nothing. Her eyes seemed to bore into his own, searching for something deep within his soul.

"I won't ask you again," he was growing even more aggitated, "What were you doing?"

Finally she sighed and looked at her injured arm, "I was talking with your father,"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"What do you mean you were talking to my father?" Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes slightly, "My father has been dead for over two hundred years."

"I know," she mumbled sleepily, picking at the bandages on her arm. Speaking to spirits took up most of her energy, and throwing a screaming fit right before hadn't helped. She felt exhausted, and barely noticed the intense throbbing in her arm now.

Sesshomaru stared down at the girl, wondering if she was sane. How could someone speak to a person who was dead? She wasn't a miko, he would have sensed it if she was. Was the poison causing her to hallucinate?

Chika looked up to see him staring at her and sighed again, "Look, I can talk to spirits, ok?"

Sesshomaru remained silent. Chika just rolled her eyes. He didn't believe her. No one ever would. Feeling a wave of dizziness coming on, she slowly laid down with her back to him. Her head was killing her.

"And what did he say to you?" he asked suddenly, startling her. She turned her head to look at him, and winced as her head swam.

"That he wishes to speak to you," she replied.

"And how does he expect to be able to do that? The path to his grave is no longer accessable," he retorted.

"Through me, when the time is right," she responded, "He said that it is part of the reason I was brought to this world."

"Only partly? Why else were you brought here?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "He was gone before I could ask." She stifled a yawn. Suddenly, she noticed that he carried two swords at his hip. One of them was the same as in her dream.

"May I see your sword?" she asked, feeling more alert as she reached out and struggled to sit up.

"What?" Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes.

"I want to see your sword," she repeated, "The top one."

"Why should I let a human such as you touch my Tensaiga?" he questioned. A lesser demon would have sounded arrogant, but Sesshomaru only seemed curious.

"It was in a dream I had," she explained, "A recurring one. It started a month before I came here."

Sesshomaru pulled his sword out of its sheath, and handed it to her. She took it carefully into her hands, and studied it. It vibrated happily. She didn't know how she knew it was happy...she just knew. Sesshomaru seemed to notice too.

"It's not a normal sword, is it?" she asked, looking up at him.

"It's a demonic sword that was once owned by my father," he explained, "But it is virtually useless to me."

"Useless? What does it do?" she asked, turning it over and over.

"It can restore life by allowing me to see the pallbearers that come to take the spirit away, and kill them," She looked over at him confused.

"Then how is it useless?" she looked into his face, puzzled. His face remained cold, as he grabbed it from her grasp and resheathed it.

"I have no wish to resurrect anyone, nor will I ever," he started to walk out of the room.

"How could you say something like that?" she exclaimed, "Don't you care about anyone?" He turned around, and stared at her blankly.

"No," he said simply, "I am a demon. The thought that I would care for anyone else but myself is ridiculous."

He turned and left, locking the door behind him. Chika watched him leave, astonished at what she had just heard. What about that girl she had met before? She seemed really attached to him. And the imp, Jaken, also. How could he say that there was no one he cared about?

Sesshomaru walked into his study as the first rays of dawn approached, lighting up the room, and inspected the shelves of books on the wall. Finding what he was looking for, he sat down on a cushion and began to read. There was a knock at the door, interrupting him.

"Enter," he said, not looking up, "What is it Rin?" The young girl poked her head into the room, and grinned sheepishly. Sesshomaru looked over to where she was standing.

"Sesshomaru-sama, where is the pretty lady? I would like to play with her," she said.

"Who are you talking about?"

"The lady who saved me," she answered, "Don't you think she's pretty?"

"She is being confined to a room at the other end of the castle," he replied, ignoring her question.

"Oh," the child's face fell.

"You may play with her if you want," he granted. Rin's smile beamed, and she bowed her thanks before running out of the room. Sesshomaru returned his attention to his book, but it didn't have the information he needed. He would have to go talk ot Bokusen'on, an old tree demon who had been an aquaintance of his father's.

Chika was startled to hear a soft knock at the door. She got up carefully (her room was still a mess, and she was still weak from communicating with spirits) called out to whoever was on the other side. The young girl from before opened the door and peaked inside. Chika smiled warmly in welcome. She liked kids, and this girl was so cute.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi!" the girl smiled, "My name is Rin. What's yours?"

"Chikako," she answered, "But you can just call me Chika."

"Would you like to play with me, Chika-chan?" Rin asked, opening the door wider. Chika smiled.

"Of course, Rin-chan. That would be fun,"

"Yay!" the small girl cried, "Let's go to the gardens!" She grabbed Chika's uninjured hand and dragged her away.

Rin lead Chika outside to the courtyard. Chika gasped at the sight of such an elegantly kept garden. Sakura trees provided shade by a small pond, where beautiful red and gold koi fish swam, and herons waded. The pond was fed by a small stream that flowed through the garden, and circled a small gazebo. Expertly crafted flowerbeds lined the walkways, and red bridges allowed people to cross the stream. Hedges taller than her wound around the edge of the garden, creating artistic walls.

Some couretsans were walking along one of the pathways. They wore elegant kimonos, and carried exquisite fans. Despite their beauty and human-like features, Chika could sense that they were demons. Rin curtsied, so Chika assumed she was expected to do the same, and did so. They smiled slightly at Rin, but looked distastefully at Chika in her simple white kimono and loose hair. Their glares didn't bother her, however, since she was used to it back in her world. She simply smiled cheerfully at them, and let Rin pull her along to the other side of the garden.

"I don't like those women," Rin confided in Chika when they were out of earshot, "They pretend to be nice to me when Sesshomaru-sama is around, but I heard one say that I was a spoiled human pest, and that I should be fed to lesser demons."

"What?!" Chika couldn't believe her ears. How could someone say that about a child? Rin looked down at her feet sadly. Large tears started to form in her soft, innocent eyes. Instinctively, Chika's maternal hormones kicked in as she sought to shield the younger girl from pain.

"Don't listen to them, Rin," she ordered, hugging the little girl tightly, "They don't know what they're talking about! And if someone tries to hurt you, come to me, ok?" Rin hugged her back, and wiped away her tears.

"Thank you, Chika-onee-chan," she whispered, "But I'm not afraid of them, because I know Sesshomaru-sama will protect me! He always does." Chika stared at the little girl. Sesshomaru claimed to hate humans, and yet, he seemed to have a soft spot for this girl. Quickly, she shook those confusing thoughts away. That guy made her head hurt.

"Alright," she said, straightening up, "What do you want to play?" Rin's eyes lit up, as she came up with a flurry of suggestions.

Sesshomaru watched the two female humans dart around the garden from the window in his study on the fourth floor. His sensitive hearing could pick up Rin's excited squeals as she tried to dodge the older girl's attempts to tag her. Soon though, they both grew tired, and laid under a Sakura tree. The older girl kept gingerly touching her arm as pain shot through it from time to time. It would not heal properly if she kept stressing it. Briefly Sesshomaru wondered why he cared. This girl was of no significance to him. Still, something nagged at him in his mind. He brushed it away, and left the study.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin cried, standing up, and running toward the demon lord as he made his way across the garden to the tree that Chika and Rin had been resting under. Chika sat up, and eyed him suspiciously. She didn't know what his reaction would be to her disobeying his orders and leaving her room. Fortunately, he didn't seem to care, and looked down at Rin as she stopped infront of him.

"Chika-onee-chan and I are having a blast!" she jumped up and down happily.

"Chika...onee-chan?" Sesshomaru questioned.

"Yeah!" Rin beamed. Chika saw a wave of brief, bitter amusement sweep over his features. But almost immediately it was replaced with his normal, cool demeanor.

"It's time for your breakfast, and then your lessons, Rin," Sesshomaru said, "You can play again later."

"Hai!" Rin waved at them, and took off back to the castle. Sesshomaru watched her go, and then turned his attention back to Chika.

"You act like a father figure to her..." Chika voiced her thoughts aloud, "And yet, you claim to care for no one. How does that work?" She tilted her head to the side, and gazed at him in confusion.

"Get up. You are coming with me to see Bokusen'on," he said, ignoring her question. He saw the anger flare up in her eyes again.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," she snapped, "So stop bossing me around like one of your slaves! Who the hell is Bokusen'on, anyway?"

Her disobeidiant response greatly annoyed him. Within an instant, Sesshomaru stood infront of her, and grabbed her uninjured arm, pulling her to her feet. She let out an angry screech, and tried to yank her arm out of his grasp. He was far stronger, however, and she could do little as he ascended into the sky, bringing her with him. They stood on a cloud, as they travelled over the land. Chika looked down, and felt nauseous. She hated hights. As the cloud floated higher, she became panicky, and clung to Sesshomaru without realizing what she was doing. She shut her eyes, burying her head in his chest, and prayed to Kami-sama that she wouldn't fall to her death. Sesshomaru looked down at her, but didn't say anything.

After what seemed like hours for Chika, she felt them start to descend. Only when they were near the ground did she realize what she was doing, and quickly backed away. She stepped too far though, and started to fall backwards, but Sesshomaru caught her. His arm curled around her waist to steady her balance, and she felt herself blush. She ducked her head, trying to hide it. What was wrong with her? Why was she blushing for _him_ of all people? She hadn't even known him for twelve hours, and yet he'd driven her mad several times already. When their feet touched the ground and the cloud evaporated, Chika tried to push away from him. She'd forgotten about her injured arm though, and cried out when white hot pain shot through it. She grabbed it with her free hand, forced to stay in close contact with Sesshomaru, because he had not yet removed his hand from it's place on her waist.

"How many times must I tell you not to strain that arm if you want it to heal?" his deep voice was right by her ear, his breath tickling her neck. There was something strange about his tone.

"Yah, ok. Whatever. Just let me go," she said, still clutching her arm lightly.

"Let me see it," he gently grasped it with his free hand, still not releasing her waist. She tried to pull it away from him, wincing as she felt more pain.

"It's fine," she assured him, "Let's just go find that person you wanted to see." She wasn't sure she wanted this to continue. In fact, she wasn't sure why it had started, or what it really was. Sesshomaru was acting strangely, and she didn't understand it.

Suddenly Sesshomaru straightened, and dodged to the side, pulling her with him, as a boulder landed with a loud smash where they had been standing seconds ago. Chika looked around, only to see close to a hundred ogres come crashing out of the surrounding trees. They were even larger and uglier than the two she had fought before. She looked up, frightened, at Sesshomaru, but he didn't seem scared. In fact, he smiled slightly. His smile sent shivers down her spine. His was definately not a pleasant smile. If anything, it made him look more evil. Slowly the ogres encircled them. One, supposedly the leader, took a step forward, and pointed a heavy club at the couple infront of him.

"Sesshomaru!" he bellowed, "You killed my brethren! You and your wench will pay for what you did." Sesshomaru responded by unsheathing his other sword.

"If you wish to die by my hand, I will not stop you," he said, his voice icy. Many of the ogres charged at them all at once, but Sesshomaru easily struck them down. From behind him, an ogre quickly grabbed Chika, and held her off the ground by her throat. Her cry of fear and surprise was cut off as he slowly applied more pressure, cutting off her air supply. The oxygen couldn't get to her brain, and Chika's eyelids slowly fluttered closed as she began to lose consciousness.

The rest of the remaining ogres froze in fear as Sesshomaru's eyes glowed dangerously red, and his aura became red as well, when he saw what was happening. He lashed out, killing the last of the ogre tribe, and caught Chika gently as she fell. With the pressure now gone, air could finally get to her lungs, and she coughed as she resumed breathing. She slowly opened her eyes, and let out a startled gasp at the change in Sesshomaru's appearance. Without saying anything, Sesshomaru stood, still holding Chika, and walked through the forest. She was too frightened to fight him. He stopped in front of a large, gnarled tree. Chika's eyes widened when she saw that there was a distinct face in the middle of the tree's trunk.

"Sesshomaru-sama," it said, "It's been a while." Taking in his demonic appearance and noticing Chika, it nodded...somehow.

"Bokusen'on," even Sesshomaru's voice had changed slightly, "This girl came from a different time, and I want to know why."

"The Great Dog Demon has not yet contacted you?" Bokusen'on asked.

"He has once,"

"And he told you nothing? Then it is not my place to tell you," Bokusen'on closed his eyes, "But I am curious about your change in appearance, Sesshomaru-sama. My messengers told me what happened with the ogres."

"Go on," Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed slightly at having his previous request denied.

"It is curious to me that you would allow your demonic blood to take over you, when the girl was in danger. And that you are still in that form, now." Chika glanced quickly at Sesshomaru to gage his reaction. She knew nothing of demons, and didn't really know what they were talking about.

"Usually," Bokusen'on continued, "A demon only does this when a mate is in danger." Chika looked at him in shock. _Mate?_

"You're wrong, Bokusen'on. She is not my mate," Sesshomaru responded. The old tree chuckled.

"A future mate, then," he said, rustling his leaves in a kind of shrug. Hearing this, Chika pushed away from Sesshomaru, and fell to the ground. She got up hurriedly, and ran as fast as she could from that spot.

"Chika!" Sesshomaru called harshly after her. Chika ignored him. Mate? _Mate?_! She'd just met him, and some tree was trying to imply that they'd be mates? Didn't she have choice in the matter? And what was with the animalistic term, anyway? She felt tears burning the back of her eyelids, blinding her. All men were pigs. She knew that now. She couldn't trust any of them. Ken had betrayed her by sleeping with her slut of a mother, her father had left his family to be with a younger woman.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru appeared infront of her, blocking her way. She didn't have much time to stop, and bumped into him, and almost fell back, but he caught her. Angrily, she tried to push him away. His hands were wrapped around her upper arms, carefully placed above her wound on her left.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, "Just leave me alone! Don't come near me!"

"That's enough, Chika," Sesshomaru said firmly, "Stop acting like a child."

"Child? You think I'm acting like a child?" she cried, "Does a child have to clean house, pay bills, and worry if she'll get kicked out of her house every week? Does a child have to put up with jackasses coming into her house everynight so they can fuck her slut of a mother?" She was screaming at the top of her lungs now, as tears poured down her face. Sesshomaru's eyes returned to their normal colour, and he brought her closer to him and stroked her long hair soothingly, an act that surprised both of them. Chika continued to cry and scream into his chest, releasing all the anger and sadness she had kept inside of her for years.

Eventually her sobs died down, but she didn't try to pull away again. Instead, she just stood there, enveloped in his arms. He continued to comb his claws through her hair, sending tingles down her spine. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent.

"Don't run away from me again," he murmured in her ear softly. She nodded slightly. She was too tired to argue.

"I won't," she promised, "As long as you stop treating me like some sort of pet you can order around." Sesshomaru nodded in agreement. The moment was broken, however, when Chika's stomach let out a long growl. She blushed in embarassment. It was almost noon, and she hadn't had anything to eat since the cup of instant ramen she had scarfed down on her dinner break the night before.

"We should get back to the castle," Sesshomaru said, as the cloud formed at their feet. Chika nodded, and squeezed her eyes shut as they flew up into the sky.


	5. Chapter 5

New World New Life

Chapter Five

**Gomen nasai for taking so long to write this chapter, mina-san!Thank you all so much for your reviews!! They encourage me when I'm having a tough time writing a hard part in the story, like this chapter! I decided that I should stick this in here to clear up some minor details, like how Sesshomaru suddenly has two arms again. (Thanks for reminding me, DarkWings44!) This is before the end of the anime series, and wayy before the manga ends. Infact, apparently in the manga, Sesshomaru actually does regrow his arm...but I didn't read it. Anyways, hope you enjoy, and I'll get back to the rest of the story next chapter.**

Sesshomaru was walking in the forest with Rin, Jaken and Ah-Un, went he caught scent of his despicable half-brother, InuYasha, running towards him. He was followed by his usual group of friends, and the wolf demon, Koga. Sesshomaru stopped, waiting for them to catch up. What could they possibly want?

Because of the Sacred Jewel Shards in his legs, Koga was the first to arrive, in his usual fashion of a tornado. InuYasha followed behind closely, with Kagome on his back. His other human friends were last to arrive on the demon cat, Kirara. Out of the entire group of InuYasha's friends, Sesshomaru had the most respect for Kirara, because although she allowed herself to be used as a pack animal when in her larger form, she was always ready to do battle, and because she was a full demon, of course. Rin hid behind Sesshomaru when she saw Koga. She was still afraid of wolves after having been killed by them. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the intruders and waited for them to speak.

"Sesshomaru-sama," the wolf spoke first, "We've devised a plan to kill Naraku."

"So why have you come to me?"

"Because we know you also want him dead," the monk spoke up, "And we humbly ask for your assistance."

"Go on," Sesshomaru said in a bored tone.

"Feh," InuYasha crossed his arms over his chest, "I still don't see why we need _his_ help."

"InuYasha!" Kagome scolded him, "We need all the help we can get to kill Naraku. He's much stronger than before! He has almost all the Sacred Jewel Shards!" InuYasha grumbled inaudibly but nodded at the monk to continue.

"Naraku can not be destroyed like most other demons," the monk explained, "because he has removed his heart from his body, and keeps it safe somewhere. We've discovered that the heart is the infant that his incarnation, Kanna the Void, carries around. If we can destroy the infant, Naraku will die."

"And how do you plan to do this?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Well..." Miroku proceeded to explain the plan to him.

Naraku was surrounded. He glanced around uneasily as Sesshomaru stood to his left, InuYasha infront of him, Miroku and Kirara behind him, and Koga to his right. He was slightly confused at the sudden alliance with Sesshomaru, and outwardly he struggled to appear self-assured.

He had been distracted though, when they had shown up suddenly, and failed to notice that Sango and Kagome were not with the rest. This was all part of the plan that they had come up with earlier. The men and Kirara would distract Naraku while Kagome and Sango killed the "heart".

InuYasha let loose the wind scar, pulling Naraku's attention to him, while Sesshomaru attacked with his tokijin, using the dragon strike.

"There!'' Kagome cried, pointing to a small cave halfway up a mountain. Kanna stood there, with a small bundle in her arms. Sango's heart jumped to her throat when she saw her brother, Kohaku, standing next to the demon. When he saw them approaching, he took a fighter's stance infront of Kanna, as Kagome shot one of her sacred arrows at the void demon. Kanna tried to absorb the arrow into her mirror, but it was too powerful, and the glass shattered. No expression passed over the demon's face, but a small voice came from the bundle in her arms.

"Quickly, Kanna," it said, "We must leave at once." The small girl looked at the infant, and nodded.

"Oh no you don't!" Kagome cried. She fired another arrow as Sango attacked with her Hirakotsu.

Kanna dodged the Hirakotsu, but couldn't dodge the arrow. Sacrificing herself, she flung the bundle into the air at the last minute, and was instantly purified. Kohaku jumped up to catch it, landing gracefully on a ledge below the girls. The cloth enclosing the owner of the voice fell, revealing a small infant. Kagome let out a gasp, recognizing it as Hakudoshi's previous form. How was that possible?

"Kohaku," the babe whispered, "Kill them."

Kohaku looked at the infant, Akago, in his arms, and back at his sister, Sango. What should he do now? If he disobeyed Akago's orders, Naraku would know that he was no longer under his spell. Why was it only Sango and Kagome who had come? Where were the others? Then it dawned on him. This was their last stand. They were determined to kill Naraku this time.

Slowly he raised his kusarigama, and without warning struck the infant in the chest. A look of shock flashed over Akago's face, before one of Kagome's arrows purified him.

"D-Damn you," he stuttered. Kohaku watched in amazement as Akago slowly disintegrated before his eyes.

Naraku froze, clutching his chest. He fell to his knees.

"No," he said in anguish, "How could this be happening? No. No!" He screamed as his body began to twitch, and then dissipated all together.

The men and Kirara stood around, staring at one another. Had the girls succeeded? Suddenly, Miroku doubled over in pain, and cried out, clutching his right hand. It pulsated several times before the pain disappeared.

"Are you alright, Monk?" InuYasha asked. Miroku replied by removing the cloth and japa mala beads that sealed his Kazana. Everyone, including Sesshomaru, jumped back. But nothing happened. The Kazana was gone.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken cried from his crook where he had been hiding while the battle was going on, "Your arm!"

Sesshomaru looked down to see his left arm starting to regrow itself. No emotion crossed his face at the return of his long lost limb, and he turned away from the rest of the group.

"Milord, where are you going?" Jaken cried.

"The battle is done. Naraku is dead. There is no reason for me to stay any longer with that half-breed,"

"What did you say?" InuYasha yelled after him angrily, but was distracted as Kagome and Sango appeared.

**Again, sorry this took so long. And it's crappily done. (...yes that is a word...in my world) If you want the actual version of what happened to go Wikipedia or read the manga. Hope you didn't mind and that it didn't bore you to tears; I'm no good at writing battle scenes, and I just wanted this chapter to be over with. Anyway, next is the rest of the story. 3**


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